Page 28 of Kill the Queens

"Really?" When she spoke, his finger stilled against her mouth.

"Like right now." He bobbed his head against the pillow, his face lowering closer to hers with the movement.

"And what am I feeling?"

"Want." His voice was a dark rasp. A deep baritone sound that reflected the emotion that coursed through her and then in turn him. Her heart raced as he tipped her chin up to him. "Do you wantme, Ace?"

Oh gods. Her entire body trembled. No one had touched her like this in so long. No one had even been this close to her since only the gods knew when. And Shelby...

Shelby was cranky and slow to trust. He was a warlock who at one point wanted to live his life quietly following the rules he'd been given. He was modest, reserved, and everything Ace wasn't.

But she wanted him. Every time the feeling rose up she tried to shove it back down, wanted to avoid it knowing there was no way Shelby wanted it too. He'd said he would have given up part of his soul for her. Did that mean he felt the same way? Did the way his eyes were falling half-hooded and their bodies were slowly aligning mean that she wasn't alone in that feeling?

"I don'tnotwant you," she finally answered too scared to say too much. "You really feel my emotions?"

"I think so." His brows pinched together. His hand tucking her hair behind her ear and fingers playing with the ends of the strands.

Ace shivered but she wasn't sure if it was from the draft in the room or what Shelby's touch truly did to her. She leaned into him until their chests were touching and their mouths were only an inch apart. Her hand drifted up to his heart. It beat against her palm just as rapidly as her own.

His lips parted. His hot breath fanned across her face. He still smelled like soap and Ace wondered if that was something he was able to do with his magic since neither of them had time to truly bathe.

They were so close. It wouldn't take much for her to press her lips to his, to let the feeling that rose from her belly up to her chest take her over. Ace leaned in and Shelby didn't pull away. Their lips brushed—

A knock sounded. Shelby inhaled and looked up.

Dark brown waves tumbled over her shoulders as shetwisted to look with him to the door. Her teeth ground together, palms sweaty, as another knock rapped against the wood.

"Maybe it's the desk girl coming back for the six tallens you didn't give her," Ace said.

Shelby stood from the bed. The moment his heat was away and the bed was empty Ace rolled to her back and glared. Maybe this was a sign from the gods. They remained oddly quiet. Maybe what they'd been about to do would have been a mistake. None of that made her want it any less and the warm feeling inside her was quickly turning sour with frustration.

The hinges squealed as the door was pulled open. Shelby's frame disappeared into the hall for a moment before he walked back into the room, his eyes wide, and an envelope in his hand. The door clicked shut.

Ace lifted herself onto her elbow. "What is that?"

He held the envelope up for her to see. A black stamp of crossing arrows with red tips marred its surface. Ace sat straight up in bed, nearly falling right off its edge as her attention snagged on the Fae King’s seal.

TEN

Queen Farah

Power swept into her. Power she'd bargained from the gods herself. Strength none of her sisters could claim they had. Her nails dug into Reed's flesh. His pulse thrummed under her palm where she pressed it into his throat. Her entire body leaned into him, choking out the air between them. Reed lifted a hand to hers, his gaze never breaking its hold. His fingers curled around hers, prying her grip from him while his face was darkening to red. She shook with rage as she realized how easily he was pulling her hand off of him, even as she tapped into the strength she'd stolen.

His fingers circled her wrist, holding her hand away from him as he took a deep breath. "You can't hurt me as easily as the man you took advantage of."

The issue was, she should be able to. Farah had killed a guardsman, sacrificed him, and drank his blood to gain the physical strength he'd had. Farah had her strength plus the strength of a man ten times her size and Reed was still able to pluck her off of him like grapes from a vine.

"How are you so strong?" she asked the question as if she hadn't just tried to kill him.

"You should have let me on the guard." A muscle in his jaw ticked.

Farah turned, ripping her wrist from his grip, and began pacing the small balcony. On one side of her, she could hear the chatter and music of her party and the other the chirping ofinsects and the calls of animals away through the night. The stars twinkled and winked from their distance. And Reed was still there watching her with more curiosity than anger.

Shouldn't he be angry?

Farah stopped walking. "Why did you come here?"

"I want the crown," he said slowly as if it had been stupid of her to even ask.

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